THE explosive dossier that accused Donald Trump of having links to Vladimir Putin’s Russia was paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic party, it has been claimed.

Lawyer Marc E. Elias, who represented both the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), is said to have paid the Washington based strategic intelligence firm Fusion GPS to carry out the research.

The firm then went on to hire Christopher Steele, the ex-British intelligence officer, to dig up the explosive claims about President Trump’s ties to Russia, anonymous sources told the Washington Post.

The campaign lawyer reportedly went on to fund the research for half a year, until just days before the election that handed Mrs Clinton a crushing defeat.

But before Mr Elias’s alleged involvement, Fusion GPS was already looking into allegations surrounding the Republican firebrand after being funded by a Republican client as voters took to the polls to decide who would represent the right wing party.

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The President demanded intelligence officials release details of who paid for the research

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It comes after the President demanded intelligence officials release details of who paid for the research, which contained allegations Russia’s secret service – the FSB – had a compromising video of Trump asking sex workers to urinate on a bed once slept on by Barack Obama.

On Saturday, he said officials should “immediately release who paid for it” as people involved in the investigation into the dossier called on their 5th amendment rights to not self-incriminate during a court hearing.

Mr Elias and Fusion GPS declined to comment, while the Clinton campaign and the DNC did not make an immediate comment.

It comes as Hillary Clinton tours the world to promote her new book, which catalogues her failed attempt to reach her nation’s highest office.